Shield



y 30, 1933- G. J. CONOYER 1,912,178

SHIELD Filed Jan. 24, 1951 Patented May 30, 1933 UNITED STATES PATENT A OFFICE GEORGE J. CONOYER, OF FRAMINGHAM, MASSACHUSETTS;

MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF FRAMINGHAM,

OF MASSACHUSETTS ASSIGNOR TO DENNISON MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION SHIELD Application filed January 24, 1981. Serial No. 510,993.

establishments it is customary to transfer a set of such shields from one to another of the selected garments until a customer has been served, after which the shields so used may be destroyed, a new set being roylded for each customer. Obviously 1t 1s h ghly desirable that shields of this kind be as 1nexpensive as is consistent with good efliciency for their intended purposes.

Objects of the present inventlon are to 1mprove the art of making shields of the class described so as to simplify and to improve the construct-ion thereof, as well as to reduce the cost of manufacture; and also generally to improve the construction and relative arrangement of parts of shields of this class in order to produce a more efiicient shield and also to facilitate applying and removing the same.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a shield showing the sides thereof spread apart;

Fig. 2 is a section along the line 2-2 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of a modificatlon.

According to'this invention dress shields may be made of crinkle or crepe paper as this material is relatively inexpensive and has high absorptive capacity. As shown in the drawing, a shield may comprise sheets 5, 6 of crinkle paper having their upper edges cut away to define substantially congruent, concave curves 7 forming the outer edges of the upper mating edge portions 8, 9 of the sheets. These curved upper edges follow approximately at least the general contour of that portion of the class of garments in which the shields are to be used, as for example,

the curvature of the armhole of a coat.

The sheets are then arranged with their mating upper edge portions8, 9 in juxtaposed relation and a layer or band of adhesive material 10 is applied between these upper edge portions to secure the sheets together with the mating edge portions laid fiat against each other so that the upper curved versely edges of the sheets come substantially into alignment and constitute the u per free edge of the completed shield. As t e shield thus formed has not been creased orotherwise permanently deformed or weakened in any manner, it will be apparent that the individual sheets, being bonded together at their upper edges, possess an inherent tendencyto lie flat against each other. Preferably this tendency is increased by arranging the crinkles, or small corrugations or ridges 11 forming the crinkle surface, to extend downwardly from the upper edge of the shield so as to stiifen the sheets and render them less susceptible to bending or to curling outwardly. When arran ed in this manner the sheets forming the s ield will cling to a garment, as by clasping thematerial forming an armhole, with sufiicient firmness to assure that once inserted the shield will remain in its intended position and will not he accidentally or unintentionally dislodged om this position. These features of construction also produce a shield which fits more neatly and accurately in a garment and thus offers practically no appreciable obstruction such as otherwise might cause discomfort or annoyanceto a person trying on a garment so equipped.

important feature of this construction resides in the arrangement of the joined, mating edge portions 8 and 9 which form in effect a I vertically disposed arcuate strengthening rib 12 (Fig 2) giving greater rigidity to this portion of the shield and also due to the arrangement of the crinkles or corrugations which extend transversely of this rib, the latter imparts stiffness to the sheets particularly where they are separated or spread away from each other at also tends to give the base of the rib. This shields of this kind better form-retaining properties thus assuring a neaterfit. Fur thermore, maximum effective; absorptive area or capacity of the shield is provided bfi the improved relative arrangement of the s eets, whereby the'crinkles extend transof the upper curved edge of the shield and longitudinally of the latter. This Wlll become apparent when it is considered that thd crinkled paper is in effect foreshort- 1'5 hand, when the crinkles extend transversely of the shield or approximately parallel to its free upper edge, no advantage is gained as regards absorptive capacity, since the sheet is not jforeshortened in this direction, and instead of the maximum, only the minimum actual surface area is available for absorbingand carrying away moisture.

One of the principal functions of this strengthening rib, however, is to project sufiiciently above the main body of the shield to form in effect a bridge piece or support which first engages clothing of a customer, for example, and suspends such clothing temporarily at least out of contact with lower portions of the shield. The clothing so engaged normally lies directly below the armpit and hence usually carries the greatest moisture content and is therefore capable of doing the greatest damage. As the mating edge portions 8 and 9 forming this rib are bonded firmly together the moisture is absorbed rapidly on the outer surface of the rib, with the result that there is relatively little opportunity or tendency for this moisture to dissolve the paste or other adhesive material securing the sheets together. This has been found to be a marked advantage over lapped seams where moisture tends naturally to work from the upper to the lower lap and thus to dissolve the intervening layer of adhesive. Furthermore the rib presents a double thickness of absorbent material to absorb moisture. In addition this rib is readily deformable on the application of relatively slight pressure applied either manually or on engagement with the body of the wearer should greater freedom be desired.

It not infrequently happens that garments fitted with shields of absorbent material are damaged apparently by pressing dampened portions of a shield against thelining of a garment as the opposite sides of the shield are clasped or pressed slightly toward each other in the act 'of removing the shield. While the dampened portions are thus caused to bear with only moderate pressure on the lining, this is often sufficient to soil the more delicate fabrics. Occurrences of this kind are avoided with a shield according to the present invention by means of the projecting rib 12 formed by the joined upper end forced into intimate contact with materialforming the garment to be protected.

A shield of this kind possesses the further advantage that it may be readily adapted to fit armholes or like portions of different curvatures. This may be accomplished with greater ease if the band of adhesive 13 joining the matin edge portions is made of variable width ig. 3), preferably having its greatest width in its central or intermediate portion and becoming narrower as the ends of the band are approached. By grasping the lower ends of the sheets and pulling them away from each other it will be evident that the oined portions of the sheets may readily be pulled apart, as for instance from the dotted line 14 to the dotted line 15, thus adapting the shield to fit an armhole of greater curvature. Moreover this'can be accomplished without the slightest breaking or otherwise weakening of the bond between the remaining joined portions of the sheets, i. e. those portions above the line 15.

It will be apparent that shields made according to the present invention are less expensive to manufacture and are more efficient and in general better suited for their intended purposes than similar shields having lapped seams or otherwise constructed. While it is contemplated that the shields may be secured together by stitches or similar means, it is preferred to use paste or like adhesive for this purpose as this leaves the sheets imperforate and afi'ords added protection from moisture penetration.

Itshould be understood that the present disclosure is for the purpose of illustration only and that this invention includes all modifications and equivalents which fall within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A shield of the class described comprising sheets of crinkle paper, the upper ends of the sheets being cut away along similar concave curves to form mating upper edge portions, these mating upper edge portions being similarly disposed and laid flat against each other, and a band of adhesive material disposed between the mating upper edge portions for securing the sheets together, the band of adhesive material having its greatest breadth in its central portion and becoming narrower as the ends of the band are approached so that the shield may be adapted to fit armholes of different ourva-- ture by pulling the lower ends of the sheets away from each other to break the bond only alon the lower central portion of the band of a hesive.

2. A dress shield comprising sheets of crinkle paper, the upper ends of the sheets being cut away along similar concave curves to form mating upper edge portions, these mating upper edge portions being similarly disposed and laid fiat against each other to form the upper free edge :of the shield, and adhesive material disposed between the mating upper edge portions for securing the sheets together, the sheets of crinkle paper being so arranged that substantially all of the crinkles in the sheets extend transversely of the upper curved edges of the shield and downwardly from the curved upper edges thereof so as to give additional stiffness to the sheets to avoid outward curling thereof and to cause the shield to cling'firmly in its intended position, and also to increase the absorptive capacity of the shield in the region of its upper edge portion.

3. A shield of the class described comprising sheets of crinkle paper, the upper ends of the sheets being cut away along similar concave curves to form mating upper edge portions, these mating upper edge portions being similarly curved and laid fiat against each other, and a layer of adhesive material disposed between the mating upper edge portions. to bond these'parts together to form a vertically disposed reinforci rib projecting upwardly in position to grasped on removing the shield from its intended position in a garment, the sheets of crinkle paper being so arranged that substantially all of the crinkles in the sheets extend transversely of the upper curved ed es of the shield and downwardly from t e curved upper edges thereof to coo crate with the reinforcing rib to give ad itional stifiness to the sheets, thereof, to cause the shield to cling firmly in its intended position, and also to increase the absorptive capacity of the shield in the re ion of its upper edge portion.

igned b me at Framington, Mass, this 20th day o January 1931.

GEORGE J. GONOYER.

to avoid outward curling 

